Cold night guest arrives

Author: Lu Yaodong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Du Fu's poem "To Wei Ba, the Scholar-Official" goes: "Children prepare wine and jugs. Night rain cuts spring leeks, newly cooked millet mixed with yellow millet. The host says meeting is hard, one cup leads to ten. Ten cups still don’t make him drunk, feeling your kindness so long. Tomorrow, separated by mountains, worldly affairs are two vast mists." On a rainy spring night, Du Fu, who had wandered through turmoil, arrived at the mountain village where Wei Ba lived. The host asked his children to prepare wine and food. The village had nothing to offer except freshly picked spring leeks from the garden and a bowl of newly cooked small yellow millet rice. Thus, the two long-lost friends, looking at each other with their shoulders, drank heartily and chatted about the changes since their parting. The candlelight flickered on the table, while the rain outside drizzled gently. Truly, one could not tell which night it was—a realm of dining.
The Song Dynasty poet Du Lei wrote in "Cold Night": "In a cold night, guests come, tea serves as wine. Bamboo stove boils water, fire first glows red." In a cold night, the north wind blows, wrapped in blankets, sleepless, suddenly a friend visits. He throws off the robe and greets the guest with his shoes off. Yet there is no extra dish in the kitchen, no aged wine in the cabinet. So he shovels snow, melts water, lights the fire, and boils tea. Outside the cottage, snow falls silently on the cold branches, while inside the bamboo stove, sparks fly from pine charcoal. In the pot, tea boils, tiny bubbles appearing. At this moment, the wind calms, the moon shines brightly, and a few sparse plum blossoms are reflected in the window—another realm.
The so-called realm of dining is the interest and taste in food, formed by the environment, atmosphere, and mindset. It has nothing to do with the fineness or coarseness of the food, nor with the splendid lights and the merry guests with cups and plates.
Lu Yaodong, in his travels to the Jiangnan region and the northern frontier, explores and tastes folk cuisines of different flavors. Through historical examination and literary brushwork, he connects the details of daily dining life with social changes. It is worth mentioning that the author does not simply introduce delicious delicacies and their preparation methods but shows appreciation and praise for folk food, understanding the life interests of ordinary people. This book collects about 30 articles, all maintaining the author’s consistent style—combining historical research with humanistic emotions from his travels, narrated in a gentle, literary manner. There are essays on the art of dining, tales of famous dishes and historical anecdotes, observations of dietary changes in daily life, integrating historical legends, real-life stories, and nostalgia.